Racing Demons

His career in cycling propelled him from the anonymity of local races to the glitter of European and World Championship events as a member of the French national team. The rider, who asks to be identified only as Michel, says his fondest memories are of the "incomparable euphoria of strength and power I'd get finding myself at the head of a tired and flagging pack, knowing I was about to pull away and ride to victory." But like a growing number of athletes, Michel attained such elation the wrong way. He eventually realized that performance-enhancing substances had ensnared him in the...

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